Our local professional guide and experienced driver will wait for you at the airport after your baggage reclaim and customs clearance, and then escort you to check in the hotel in downtown area. The remainder of the day is free for you to have a rest at the hotel to recover from the jet lag or explore the city. For dinner, we would like to recommend Buffalo Stone, one of the biggest bars in the famous Houhai area, and it is 15 minutes' drive by taxi from the hotel. The restaurant is full of exquisite decorations and furniture in Southeast Asian style. The meal cost here is around CNY200 per person.

Your tour will commence today with a visit to the Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City, including the Treasure Gallery and the Hall of Clocks. Lunch will be served at the famous Fangshan Restaurant located at Beihai Park. "Fangshan" means the food is cooked according to the imperial kitchen recipes. The restaurant is 80 years old and popular for its 'imperial food' features. After lunch, take a rickshaw and visit the Hutong area, where you will see the Drum and Bell Tower and also have a chance to visit a local family. At around 17:00, our guide will take you back to your hotel or to your preferred restaurant for dinner. A visit to Beijing without the crispy, tender and tasty Peking Duck would be a great pity. Among the multifarious restaurants serving Peking Duck, the most famous one is the time-honored Qianmen Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant. You are advised to order according to your own preference and pay on the spot. You can order a duck plus the pancakes and side dishes, and also duck soup and some light vegetable dishes if you are interested. Usually it costs around CNY200 to CNY300 per person. Please take a taxi back to your hotel.

In the morning we'll visit Mutianyu Great Wall, which is less crowded but also attractive. There are cable cars running at the scenic spot. Climbing at this section of the Great Wall is time-consuming and exhausting, so we've reserved the round-way cable car for you. After lunch, we will drive back downtown, en route you will get the chance to see the Bird's Nest (Olympic National Stadium) and the Water Cube (the National Aquatic Center). In the afternoon visit the Summer Palace and take a short boat trip on Kunming Lake to enjoy the beautiful scenery if weather allows. For dinner today, the Bai Family Mansion is recommended. The restaurant is in a gorgeous courtyard and the waiters wear traditional Qing Dynasty dresses. The specialties here are venison, imperial snack, Kungpao shrimp, Deep-Fried Four Treasures and Chicken. The Chinese music and occasional "face-change" performances are also highlights here. From Bai Family Mansion to your hotel, it takes around 50 minutes by taxi.

Your private luxury China tour continues to the Temple of Heaven in the morning. An a la carte lunch will be served at a decent restaurant. Then you will be transferred to the airport to take an afternoon flight to the ancient city-Xian. You will be received by our guide at the airport and then transferred to the hotel, Crowne Plaza, which is located close to the provincial stadium. The dinner suggestion today is the high-end Real Love Chang'an Restaurant, which is a 15 minute walk from your hotel. The recommended dishes are Deep-fried Whole Chicken and Abalone Mushroom. The cost is around CNY200 per person. You can either walk or take a taxi back to your hotel after dinner.

Terracotta Army Museum with a culture lecture, A la carte lunch, Provincial History Museum including the Exhibition Hall for Mural Paintings of the Tang Dynasty, Tang Dynasty Dinner Show. (B+L+D)

Terracotta Army

Visit the Museum of Terracotta Warriors and Horses. This is a fabulous archeological treasure, You will also have a chance to attend a culture lecture for around 30 to 60 minutes to learn more about the museum's history. Your a la carte lunch is served at the best local restaurant. In the afternoon, visit the Provincial History Museum and its Exhibition Hall for Mural Paintings of Tang Dynasty. Afterwards, the guide will take you back to the hotel for a short rest. In the evening, we specially arrange a fabulous Tang Dynasty Dinner Show at the Tang Dynasty Palace for you. You can also taste the delicious imperial food while enjoying the traditional music and dance. After that, you will be transferred to the hotel by a comfortable vehicle.

Meals: American breakfast, A la carte lunch, Tang Dynasty dinner show

Day 6 Xian

City Wall, City Wall Park, A local family visit and home-cooked lunch, Xian Museum & Small Wild Goose Pagoda. (B+L)

Making dumplings in Xian family visit

In the morning wander around the circular City Wall Park to experience native life. And then visit the City Wall. If you are interested, you can have a short cycling trip on the Wall, which is a unique and marvelous experience. Your lunch will be served at a local family where you can taste the authentic home cooked Chinese dishes and have chance to learn how to cook Chinese food from the host with the help of our guide. In the afternoon visit the Small Wild Goose Pagoda and Xian Museum, and learn Chinese traditional Stone Rubbing, which is a practice of copying an inscription on paper. For dinner, we would like to recommend Yuezhenxuan Restaurant that specializes in Canton cuisine. The guide can take you to this restaurant instead of going back to the hotel if you like. The general cost here is around CNY100 per person. The popular snacks here are the Steamed Shrimp Dumplings and the Steamed Creamy Custard Bun. Take a taxi back to your hotel.

This morning you are free to relax on your own. If you would like to go shopping, the famous bustling Xiaozhai shopping area is about a 20 minutes' walk from the hotel. Our guide will meet you around noon and take you to have an a la carte lunch that is served at a local famous restaurant. Then drive to the airport and en route visit the Hanyangling Museum, which is on the site of the Mausoleum of Western Han Emperor Liu Qi. A large number of figurines unearthed from Hanyangling are prominently displayed in the museum. About 60 centimeters (23.6 inches) high, naked and without arms, they are only one-third as tall as a real human. According to research, when these pottery figurines were completed, they were dressed in all kinds of beautiful costumes with wooden arms. However, after thousands of years, the clothes and wooden arms have completely rotted away. Compared with the solemnity of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of the Qin Dynasty, these pottery figurines of Western Han Dynasty appear to be calm and peaceful, reflecting the harmonious social environment of that time. Afterwards you will take a flight to Guilin. Our guide will pick you up at Guilin airport and transfer you to the hotel. Since it might be late when you arrive in Guilin, we suggest you have a buffet dinner at your hotel instead of going outside.

Today you will have a city tour to the Reed Flute Cave, the Seven Star Park and the Elephant Trunk Hill. Lunch will be served to you at a nice and decent local restaurant. The Reed Flute Cave is the most magnificent attraction in Guilin. It gets its name from the reeds growing outside, with which people make flutes. The Seven Star Park is the largest park in Guilin and the Elephant Trunk Hill is the symbol of the city. Tonight you will take a cruise at Two Rivers and Four Lakes for around 90 minutes to enjoy the breathtaking scenery. The Guilin cuisine is recommended at the famous Weidao Zhizao Restaurant. As always, dinner is to be had at a restaurant of your choice, your guide will take you to the restaurant and you are advised to get a taxi back to your hotel.

Meals: American breakfast, Lunch

Day 9 Guilin - Yangshuo

Li River cruise to Yangshuo, Countryside trip, free time at the West Street, Impression Sanjie Liu performance. (B+L)

Yangshuo rural scenery

Today, you will go to Yangshuo by Li River cruise - the essential component of Guilin trip and it takes around 4.5 hours. En route, do not forget to capture the scenic mountains and beautiful Li River with your camera. Upon arrival in Yangshuo, you will have a countryside tour and visit a local villager's home to experience the farmer's lifestyle. Then you will have some free time at the famous West Street. Half residences and half shops, it has a history of nearly 1400 years. Wandering around the street, you will be encompassed by shops, bars, cafes, restaurants and the roadside hawkers. You have plenty of options for dining here. The recommended local food are beer fish and rice noodles. Tonight you will enjoy the Impression Sanjie Liu (VIP seats) which is performed on picturesque Li River. It is a story of Sanjie Liu - the fairy singer of Zhuang minority.

Here we would like to remind you the lunch on the cruise is not that good. It is the simple box lunch provided by the cruise company. We can only say it is edible but far from delicious. We suggest you have a big breakfast at the hotel this morning.

Day 10 Yangshuo - Guilin - Shanghai

Free time in the morning. Fly to Shanghai, Airport-hotel transfer. (B)

In the morning, you have free time to explore Yangshuo by yourself. Taking a bike tour to visit the Moon Hill and the Big Banyan Tree is highly recommended. It takes around one hour each way. If you just want to relax, you will find a tiny and enigmatic world within the marvelous scenery and have a pot of tea in a sidewalk cafe. During lunch time, you will have another chance to taste the delicious food at the West Street as you can choose your own restaurant. After that, our guide and driver will chauffer you to the airport to catch your onward flight to Shanghai. Upon landing, our local guide in Shanghai will welcome you and then lead you to the hotel. For dinner you can take a taxi to Wangbaohe Restaurant at the Central Hotel, which is a good place for tasting Shanghai cuisine, especially the crab. A dinner here generally costs CNY250-300 per person.

This morning visit the Urban Planning Exhibition Hall. Situated on the People's Square, you will be able to get some information about the city's achievements in planning and construction. At noon an a la carte lunch will be served at a fancy and famous local restaurant, which offers authentic Shanghai and Cantonese cuisines. After lunch visit the Yuyuan Garden, a typical classical Chinese garden in Shanghai. Afterwards, you will be driven to the Xintiandi area, a well-known street teeming with bars, restaurants, stores and entertainments. You may choose a restaurant for dinner here. The one we'd like to recommend is Ye Shanghai Restaurant, which is a five minutes' walk from Xintiandi and specializes in Shanghai cuisine and Yangzhou flavor. The cost here is CNY200-300 per person. After dinner, our guide will pick you up and transfer you to Shanghai Centre Theater to enjoy the exciting Portman Acrobatic Show (VIP seats), and return you back to the hotel at the end.

In the morning visit the Shanghai Museum, a Chinese ancient art museum. An audio guide will be offered if you need it. After an a la carte farewell lunch at a well-selected restaurant, you will visit Zhujiajiao, a water town to see the well-preserved Ming and Qing architecture, ancient stone bridges, ancient streets and so on. Drive back to Shanghai and stroll around the Bund, the symbol of the city. Then our guide will take you back to your hotel or bring you to a restaurant for dinner. Today we would like to recommend South Beauty (Qiaojiangnan 881) that specializes in Sichuan cuisine. This branch at Yan'an Road is considered to be the best one of the chain, with an elegant garden, peaceful ambiance and efficient service. Generally it costs around CNY200-300 per person for a dinner. Then you can take a taxi back to the hotel.

Meals: American breakfast, A la carte lunch

Day 13 Departure from Shanghai

Hotel-airport transfer & see you off. A nice journey home! (B)

The tour will conclude today and you will be transferred to the airport for your homebound flight. Hope you have had fun with us!